Fullerton ties against conference foes

With zero goals against him, stand-in goalkeeper Edgar Rodriguez led the Hornet soccer team to a no-goal tie against the Santa Ana Dons.

The Dons first opportunity to score came from forward Julian Cardenas.  After the Dons were fouled outside the 18-yard box, Cardenas pounded the ball towards the goal.  However, the Hornet's four man wall blocked the shot.

The Hornet offense gave a last effort in the first half with a corner kick.  Julio Chavez gave a short ball to Pablo Venegas.  Seeing multiple players open in the 6-yard box Venegas crossed the ball to the middle where Don goalkeeper Adrian Garcia intercepted the ball.

"[In the] Second half we played a little better. I just kept telling them this is just like a regular practice," said Head Coach Alex Perez. "How you practice is how you are going to play."

The Hornets continued attacking Santa Ana defense as Venegas crossed the ball on the ground to Lucio Quinones. With little time to maneuver the ball, Quinones quickly got a shot off,  missing the net.

Santa Ana answered back with an attempt on goal from Cardenas as he dribbled around the FC defense, touching it to his left foot. Yet, the shot, being too strong, went
over the goal.

Despite normally playing offense, temporary goalkeeper, Rodriguez, explained that the defense held up confidence against their rival team, leading to a tie rather than a loss.

In the game's last try to score, forward Cameron Neliey tricked two defenders, getting a clear pass to Manny Cervantes in front of the goal.  With a miscalculation of time, Cervantes was unable to get his foot on it, sending the ball out of bounds.  

"We were playing a lot of long kickball and our strength is our touch, so we'll continue working on our touches," explained Alex Perez when asked what the team will improve on for the next game.

On Tuesday afternoon the Hornets battled Cypress College to another draw, 2-2, in OEC play making them 1-5-4 on the season. 

The back and forth match started with a free kick goal in the 35th minute by the Chargers' Nelson Preciado. The goal would stand as the lone goal of the half and leave the Hornets 1-0.

The second half was dominated by the Hornet offense and would help avoid a second loss in conference play.

Venegas put Fullerton on the board with his low drive past a diving Charger in the 70th minute.

After another Cypress goal, Fullerton evened the score in the last minute off a lob by Jahier Tello.